One Girl's Journey to Live Like a Queen
You might remember we debated hiring a videographer.
But if we didn’t, then you’d miss out on the awesome details of our wedding, me sighing dreamily during my husband’s vows, our first dance as we muddled through it, us on chairs for the Horah, and even some Rogge-Rabbit dancing action.
Need a pick me up and to smile all dopey-like?
Then there’s this (only 4.30 min long!):
which I love, love, love!
Also? I love my sister’s speech and am so glad he opened with it.
And then our photographer said she always wanted to do a shoot on a fire escape.
So we asked a random building to do just that.
On a random Wednesday afternoon, the staff happily obliged.
By the way, I hate heights.
These pictures were so worth the adventure!
Forgive my brevity, I’m only using 9 fingers to type thanks to a silly bread knife injury & trip to Urgent Care on Halloween night.
Right.
After returning from our honeymoon, we met up with our fav photog, Leah of Studio Juno. We intended to finish our hour (honestly 3 hour long) session with a Trash the Dress romp.
First up: Georgetown cityscape shots
I love these shots!
Bee Tee Dubs, lovely locks sculpted by David Beck & exquisite make-up crafted by Andrea, both of Salon Rouge.
Immediately after the Hora we moved into another fun family tradition: the dollar dance (older post on the Polish history of the dollar dance). It was completely exhausting going from the 25 minute hora to a 15 minute polka, and simultaneously fun.
See, you pay a dollar to dance with the bride.
And then we use that money for the honeymoon (or to start the couple’s life — same diff).
My mom and sister collected the money for me while the dancers lined up and waited their turns.
This great tradition really captured my Polish side & allowed me some individual time with friends and relatives. (I especially loved when cousin Steve brought me a glass of water!)
During the post-wedding-feedback stage, several people told me the Hora stood out as their favorite part of our wedding. Comments varied from, “I’ve never seen a group of people so excited!” to “Twenty-five minutes of straight dancing without stopping was incredible.” Our band rocked it out and kept the party going, for what seemed like a great forever.
[Sidenote: around this point the bustle in my dress began failing & falling. I stepped on the hem and got frustrated and started hated my dress. Oh, the heat, too. The temperature under 6 layers of fabric grew unbearable.]
But that did not stop me from dancing!
The guys and girls created their own circles.
Speaking of talented, Mike & danced for each other
I cried more dancing with my father than any other time during the wedding. (Sorry husband). Even though my dad and I only practiced once, about 5 minutes before we took the floor, he managed to swing, twirl and promenade me all over that dance floor. That man can lead (he and my mom ballroom dance <– cute!). During the dance he whispered complements to me, telling me how beautiful I looked, how amazing everything came together, and how lucky he was. Cue the waterworks. We shared a great Father’s Day moment right there.
You might recall the emails exchanged between he and I, where I wondered if he could guess my favorite Disney movie song? and BAM without prompting, he knew what our song would be:
Candle on the Water, by Helen Reedy, from Pete’s Dragon.
After the wedding ceremony it is customary, in Judaism, for the bride and groom to have time to themselves (yichud). They are escorted to the “yichud room” and left alone. We used this time to scarf down food & say “wow” about a million times. Back in the day, this time together made the marriage official — if ya’ know what I mean.
These moments of seclusion signify the couple’s new status of living together as husband and wife.
Once we had enough to eat and drink I texted our wedding planner, eager to move on to the next moment! We hoped to mingle with our guests, but had to use the time instead for family photos. Honestly, this became my least favorite part. We spent time prior to the ceremony taking some family shots, but didn’t finish. At this point I simply wanted to dance and celebrate with my friends. I love my family but that flash bulb drove me crazy…. (and of course, I was in every picture).
Once the necessary family portraits finish the cocktail hour time sadly passed. Next up: Our First Dance!
Mike & I long debated over which song to use for this moment. I wanted something timeless, that might play in the grocery store one day and make us remember back to that day. He wanted something lively and fun. We finally decided on one song, and then promptly changed it 3 days later to our final decision.
{all photos by Studio Juno}
There are a couple things I need to point out, to validate my/our hard work and document the end results.
For the ceremony, my mom purchased a kit from Michael’s craft stores and then made the layout with her fine Microsoft Office skills. My dad then helped her print, arrange, and tie the bows. (Thanks Mom & Dad!) We placed them on chairs for guests, prior to the ceremony.
I found some reserved seating cards on TheKnot.com. (Which reminds me, I need to sell them… anyone want them?) These were perfect for the ceremony!
The kepot were passed out at the door, thanks to our dear friend, Eric. We decided to go with a contrasting color to the bridesmaids dresses to change things up a bit.
Post ceremony, the guests were lead to the Board Room where one bar was located, or to the Portico, outside, where there were cabaret (high-top) tables and another bar. And I have no picture of this. But it existed.
Before entering the cocktail hour area you came across a table with escort cards, decorated with floating candles, similar to some of the table arrangements. I stupidly printed out all the cards myself, a few days before the wedding (with the help from amazing Lara!). Turns out, when you do this task after midnight and when your husband is already away on his bachelor party, you will make mistakes… like forgetting a whole table. whoops!
I found this gift box at Target, days prior to the wedding. I used the same ribbon as I did for my niece’s flower girl basket and the escort card (to differentiate entree choices), for flair.
Each escort card led guests to their assigned table, named after a different zoo animals (a nod to Mike’s proposal!)
At each seat lay menu cards and benchers (Jewish prayer books – which we forgot to use!) flanked each table. Sidenote: I also printed these menu cards out in the wee-hours of the morning. Not advised.
As mentioned before, I made the cake topper (with that same ribbon).
The bridesmaid’s flowers surrounded the cake table.
And my bouquet graced our sweetheart table, along with my special clutch from Etsy!
These little elements all came together so nicely!
{all photos by the awesome Studio Juno}
First Mike and some buddies (witnesses) signed the kettuba (marriage contract). From what I understand, since I was not there, shots were taken, high fives were given, and a general boy-good-time was had, amidst the seriousness.
The bedeken, in short, is the veiling ceremony. There are many reasons behind why this tradition exists, and I enjoy this one the most: In the Hebrew Bible, Jacob was fooled into marrying Leah who was completely veiled before and during the ceremony, instead of his intended bride Rachel. Jewish grooms today carry out this tradition to symbolically acknowledge that the bride is indeed one’s beloved.
Mike came upstairs to the library (bridal ready room) with the kettuba & his boys literally cheering him on!
I then signed our kettuba. Even though our contract was signed we were not yet officially bound to each other. That takes place under the chuppah.
Isn’t it beautiful? I’m so in love with our kettuba. Naomi Broudo of Etsy made it for us. Side-note: shipping something from Canada can take awhile and even get lost in customs. Always leave extra time!
Then our Rabbi said some official stuff & prayers (very technical, I know), and Mike placed my veil over me.
While blessing us, our Rabbi asked family and friends who were there to think of a special moment they shared with the two of us. We had yet to even begin the marriage ceremony and tears were flowing already!
Mike kissed me one last time.
Everyone else headed downstairs.
I remained at the top of the stairs, ready to walk down the aisle!
Eep!
After the bridal party shots, we headed back to The Carnegie Institution to cool down, take some family portraits, exchange gifts and sign the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract).
and this too:
Let me start out by saying we had the best attendants. Our groomsmen & bridesmaids (have you heard them called “bridesbabes” ?!) were fabulous. Whats more, we couldn’t imagine better people to stand up next to us as we said our vows.
Thankfully, we have these awesome pictures to prove it:
But honestly, THESE are the pictures that really show how much we love them:
Oh, those boys…
The ladies:
Such hams! Love it!
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